Issue no. 2. hand and the 3D printed prototype, Trudy began to make modifications to Caleb s design.

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1 Issue no. 2 hand and the 3D printed prototype, Trudy began to make modifications to Caleb s design. Mr Tony Pace, Mr Jaike Ludewig and Trudy worked tirelessly to incorporate an ev3 Mindstorm lego block with the intention of making it a fully functional robotic prosthetic limb. Through problem solving, Trudy experimented with the structure of the Ev3 motors and the 3D printed hand in the hope of making a functioning prosthetic. Going further into this inquiry, Trudy discovered how to code her robotic limb, with the aid of Mr Pace and Mr Ludewig. As a result, Trudy was successful with her robotic prosthetic hand as she was able to program the hand to open and close. Thank you, Michael Nicolaides Acting Leading Teacher Alamanda College. Throughout the last 6 weeks, the Year 6 students have been working in small groups to organise their personal inquiries into the interdisciplinary theme, How The World Works, to create an Exhibition piece to share with their families and local community. Using the Five Essential Elements, and creating group central ideas, students have each prepared a creative element to display. Through our guiding statement The science of today has led to global innovations, Trudy from 6A explored the idea of Prosthetics. She inquired into scientific advancements over time, robotic technology used to create limbs and the history and evolution behind Prosthetics. As technology has progressed, so too has the application and use of technology. Society has applied technology to everyday uses such as, smart phones, personal GPSs for our cars, even online classes. An equally important area in which technology has been applied in recent years has been in the use of prosthetic limbs, or robotic limbs. But, how would you connect a machine to a human? Through this guiding question, Trudy inquired into the design process and her first prototype was that of a cardboard hand with simple strings connected to the fingers, running up her arm acting as the mechanics. Further investigation and a push in the right direction led Trudy to Caleb Spires and Mr Ludewig who, created a prosthetic hand using the 3D printer. It was from this initial meeting that we started to see Trudy s vision come to life. Caleb kindly donated one of his first prototypes for Trudy to use. Using her own cardboard At the very beginning of the exhibition, having to choose what exactly I wanted to do was very hard for me. I was on completely equal terms with all the possible topics, Medical, Transport, Communication, Natural Laws and Production. I knew I wanted to go into the Medical Science group but by the looks of it, I was sure almost everyone else wanted to also. One of our guest speakers was Caleb Spires, a Year 8 student at Alamanda College. He spoke about making his own prosthetic from scratch using a 3D printer. I already knew about fake ligaments, but I never really thought about it. It was intriguing about how a piece of metal, plastic or wood could easily change someone s life for the better. So, due to this incredible story, this was what inspired me to create a functional robotic prosthetic hand. - Trudy 6A

2 Prep I Prep I have begun this term to learn how to use the Bee-Bots and spent time learning how to use them in a principled way and investigated how the Bee-Bot works. They will now continue to develop this understanding by creating codes. Prep I have been discovering how to use the robot Cubetto, which we named Primo. The class worked together to discover how to programme the robot, how to move around the map using the navigation board. When it did not go to the correct destination, as a class they worked to together to problem solve and correct the code. As they became more familiar with the robot they began to use it independently incorporated into writing time as they created adventures for Primo. Working together in small groups they decided where Primo should go on his adventure and used the interface board to programme him to the destination. Then they wrote about his journey. As Lawrence wrote, Primo first went to the castle and then Primo went to the ocean. At the ocean, he had a swim. And then Primo went to the desert to have a hot day with his friend. Prep I are looking forward to being able to continue to use robotics in the classroom as the year progresses. 2

3 Prep F In Prep F, we have been using Beebots to help us explore the lifecycles of different plants and animals, including Sunflowers, Bees and Chickens. The students are given images of the lifecycle and need to place them in order and then program Beebot to travel around to each of the stages of the lifecycle. The students have enjoyed working together to program their Beebot and have been extremely excited when they get their Beebot to travel to each stage of the lifecycle. We didn t make him forget and he just kept going and going. Lewi You have to put the pictures in a square because Beebot only goes straight Mahi We got him to go the whole way around. He went forward, forward, turn, forward, forward, turn, forward, forward and he got back to the egg. Zayan We have to pick him up with two hands. This is to make him forget, and this makes him go Syna (explaining how Beebot works to a new student in our class) YEAR one L In Digital Technologies the Year One students will continue to be exposed to Bee-Bots and Blue- Bots and use them during Literacy and Numeracy to support student learning. Students in 1L have been using Bee-Bots to explore location. Students used their prior knowledge of directional language to create a town using paddle pop sticks. They then programmed the Bee- Bots to travel from one end of the town to the other, using directional language to discuss their journey. It was fantastic to see students being risk takers and showing persistence when programming their Bee-Bots. Although it proved to be a challenging task, all students were able to program their Bee- Bots to follow their roads. Students will begin using Blue- Bots in Literacy and Numeracy to support their learning. They will use the ipad Application Blue- Bots to complete challenges and extend their understanding of coding. 3 It was fantastic to see students being risk takers and showing persistence when programming their Bee-Bots.

4 YEAR TWO This week in 2A we were able to use our Dash robots to help us create and identify the settings in a narrative. We were challenged to create a story using detailed descriptions of the settings and the events that occurred at each place. We used Dash to move through the map to describe the sequence of our story, as well as convey some part of the events occurring at those places. Our map in 2A was a map of a theme park, and we were able to describe the different rides and the events that occurred there using the microphone and record function to show emotion. First we wrote our story, then we converted our story to a digital storyboard using the app, Blockly. We made Dash walk through each step of our story, ensuring each part is acted out. We used trial and error to have our robot drive around the map, using the sequence of events we had written down in our narrative. It was able to talk, make noises and show the different emotions at each interval. Using this, we could narrate the robot as well as have other students discuss what our story might be. This allows us to use the robotics in our literacy, to create, describe, predict and use emotions in our narratives. We made Dash walk through each step of our story, ensuring each part is acted out. We used trial and error to have our robot drive around the map, using the sequence of events we had written down in our narrative. 4

5 YEAR THREE In Grade 3 we have been working collaboratively to code the Sphero s. The students of Grade 3C and 3E worked together to create maps based on the Mentor Text The Hungry Caterpillar written by Eric Carle. The students also created a list of instructions for their peers to follow whilst moving around on the map. In small groups, the students taught one another how to code using the application Tickle. 90 degrees was too high so we changed it to something different and it finally worked. We kept on trying. Gavin and Kevin, 3G We had to draw a map and make the shero finish at the right spot. The hardest part was trying to code it to turn and roll. It took time to do this and also took concentration. Tiana and Cecilia, 3G I enjoyed the drive feature of the Sphero Edu Application, I was able to make the Sphero go anywhere I wanted. - Caiden 3E. I enjoyed working with the kids in 3E, we worked together to code on our own. Ladonna 3C Through trial and error, the students from 3E, 3D and 3G have found that the best Application to use for the Sphero is Sphero Edu. The students have been experimenting with Sphero Edu to roll, loop and change direction. Whilst learning how to use the new Application the students discovered the sound effect, meaning they were able to code the Sphero to talk and make animal sounds! I enjoyed the drive feature of the Sphero Edu Application, I was able to make the Sphero go anywhere I wanted. Caiden 3E. Coding with Sphero is a great opportunity to develop our ability to problem solve and be reflective, as it rarely works the first time we code in directions. Figuring which part went wrong and then working cooperatively to fix it is a big part of coding that we can transfer to other areas in our lives. We coded our Sphero to go over the ramp. We tried to turn Sphero by coding 90 degrees and it didn t work. So we asked Ben and Daryl to help us and they said 5

6 YEAR FOUR C In robotics, we learnt how to use coding to make the blue bots move in different directions. In our groups, we made a maze out of our pencils and tried to put the correct codes to make it through. We also found out that it is difficult for it to go up ramps, we had to use trial and error to succeed. Overall the robotics classes were enjoyable and I learnt things that I didn t know before. - Quinn Rodwell 4C. In robotics, we have been learning about a robot called a blue bot and learning how to make algorithms, which make the robot move in certain ways so it can move where we want. There are buttons such as forwards, backwards and sideways. We decided to move the robots to different countries, by placing it on world map, a mat with coordinates to tell where it is and we recorded it on our ipads. It was very fun in robotics this year. - Harry Goodwin 4C Blue Bots: At school, we learnt Coding and Robotics with Mr Cantone our Coding and Robotics teacher. We coded Blue Bot a little robot, you can see in the photo. It rotates and turns, all we have to do is click its buttons. It lights up and makes noises when we turn it on. We were put in groups, I was partners with one of my friends. The buttons on the robot makes it go, so forward is forward, back is back, the right one makes it go right, and left makes it go left. We found out there was a X button and button. The X one was to delete all the code and was to pause the code. Algorithm: Algorithm is another word for Instructions. It is like a recipe, a set of instructions. We made an algorithm by using a website and most of us programmed Red the Angry Bird. We used the buttons forward, left and right to move him to the evil pig. There were rocks, trees and TNTs in the way. People coded the app so we can code as well. There is an app called Hopscotch where we can make fun games using code. We enjoyed the coding lessons and there is still more coming! - Aniehsa Kor 4C. 6

7 YEAR FIVE C Students have been learning lots of new things about the WeDo 2.0 Lego robots in the past few weeks. Students have been so thrilled with their work and new found understandings. They were so happy they wanted to share the following with you: RACING ROBOTICS In a specific robotics lesson, I collaborated with Dyuthi and Kriti to build a racing car and code it. I learned about speed and timing and used motion to move the car around. Since I already go onto another app and do coding, I found this fairly easy and used my prior knowledge to code the car to do other things, such as driving the length of a table then stopping. I was being a risk taker by trying to code the robot to do other things by myself. I used trial and error for the code, testing and changing the script, much like a science experiment. - Zahara 5C LEGO ROBOTICS working with my partner. Overall, I really enjoyed doing robotics as I learned how to code and get much better at building with Lego. - Sudeepthi 5C SCIENCE WITH ROBOTICS In robotics, 5C and I have had a lot of fun. We built robots and also got to code them! We have covered a lot of robots during this unit. The robots could move, pull, go really fast, and work together! We worked in partners to build the robots. It was hard to build the robot quickly since it was confusing, but we got it at the end. We coded the robots, which means we made them move and do a variety of different tasks. When coding we had to know what the symbols meant. We used the WeDo 2.0 program to code the robots. We looked at a website that shows the meanings behind the symbols. We created a load of robots. Our most recent ones were the Race car robot and the Mars Rover which we worked in large groups, so then we would connect them to work together. This was linked to our current inquiry Scientific knowledge develops through questioning and discovery. Mr Gammons, helped us by explaining how to use the app WeDo 2.0, it was a very fun task to do with your friends. We were committed by completing the robots. We were also using the PYP Attitude creativity by creating our own codes. - Keshvi 5C In Term 2 and Term 3 the year 5 s have been using Lego robotics. In 5C we explored many different areas of robotics and learned how to code robots with Mr Gammons our coding teacher. Some of the things we did were, building robots and one of the main robots were Milo the science bot, we collaborated with other robots, learned how to change the speed or how to pull using codes and learned what each block does in coding. My favourite thing in coding was building the robots using Lego. I felt that I was a communicator and worked with my partner throughout all robotics lessons. I was cooperative and caring by 7

8 YEAR SIX B When we think of robots, we think of giant machines that build cars and creations too impossible to be real. Robots are in our everyday lives in many ways, from automatic pool cleaners to toys for kids. Robots are an engaging, hands-on way of teaching children important concepts like mathematics and science. While the robots used in classrooms don t shoot lasers out of their eyes, they are quickly becoming a popular way to catch and keep a classroom s attention. Robots can provide an interactive means of teaching children about maths in context, by taking the numbers off the page and into real life. Students can see how simple maths concepts such as addition and subtraction, as well as more advanced concepts like proportions affect how a robot responds to its environment. Last week 6B invited their Prep G buddy class over to play with the robots. In preparation for their visit, the challenge was set to the student of 6B. They were to come up with a rich mathematical activity that involved using the robots to capture the excitement and learning of their respective prep buddy. In particular, they were to make the activity suitable for a range of ability levels. Before using the robots, the students of 6B explained to their prep buddy all about the functions of the robot. A Bee-Bot is a programmable floor robot. Students enter instructions to move forward or backward in 15 cm steps or to turn right or left. When they press the <Go> button, the robot moves as instructed. Students learnt how the Bee-Bot worked by experimenting on the floor. They also made a map of a treasure island like the one below, with squares of side 15 cm superimposed on it. Then students were challenged to program a Bee-Bot to navigate its way from one place to another. Some Examples of the activities 6B students ran with their buddy are listed below: Callum, Ashton and Jesse created a Bee-Bot skip counting mat, starting from 0 and finishing at 100. Together with their buddies they rolled the dice, indicating the amount of steps they could move and together they called out the numbers. Yara used the Edison Bot and programmed their robot to follow a line and respond to a clap command. 8 As a whole class the students used the Bee-Bots and Blue-Bots to set tasks for each other. The aim was to start at a certain place on the map and use the Grid Reference to reach the destination. The students really enjoyed this activity as they used terms such as A3 to B6. Amelia worked with her buddy using a 0-20 number mat. Together they rolled 2-dice and added the totals. Amelia then assisted her buddy in programming her Bee- Bot to move to the total of the two numbers.